In preparing shrimp, crawfish or other animals having a vein in the alimentary canal, it is often desirable to remove the vein. Current options for deveining shrimp include manual removal, which is inefficient and time-consuming, and automated devices known in the art. With manual operations, a worker must perform a number of operations to partially or entirely remove the shell from the meat of the shrimp, and cut the meat of the shrimp in a manner desirable to the end user. Manual vein removal is relatively time consuming and thus can lead to higher costs. Moreover, such prolonged contact between workers and the shrimp can lead to contamination of the shrimp. Additionally, the resulting processed product can be less than uniform depending upon the individual worker performing the operation, and the diligence with which the worker processes the shrimp.
Prior automated deveining devices may also lack efficiency, and can also damage the meat, leading to both an undesirable appearance in the shrimp and a reduced quantity of the meat. In automated deveining devices, cutting blades often tear into the meat, making many processed shrimp undesirable for presentation and-or wasting valuable meat product.